Hong Kong's exports are growing at their fastest pace in nearly two years, rising by 18.8 percent year on year in November and beating market expectations as trade tensions stabilised between China and the United States.

Official figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Monday showed that the total value of the outbound shipments stood at HK$468.9 billion last month, notably higher than the HK$461.8 billion seen in October, when the growth rate was at 17.5 percent.

The latest growth rate was the highest since the start of last year and came after President Xi Jinping met his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Busan, South Korea, at the end of October, when they agreed to a truce on tariffs.

Imports remained robust, jumping 18.1 percent to HK$517.4 billion, higher than the HK$501.7 billion seen in October.

The latest data left the city with a trade deficit of HK$48.5 billion, or 9.4 percent of the value of imports during the period.

Commenting on the data, a government's spokesman said that the city's exports "continued to show a strong performance", with robust growth seen in shipments to most major markets, especially for electrical equipment, machinery and mechanical appliances.

"Looking ahead, sustained moderate global economic growth and persistent demand for electronic-related products will underpin Hong Kong's merchandise trade growth in the near term," he said, adding that the government would continue to monitor risks while diversifying markets.